How to play
- Press Start. You have 15 minutes for all 197 countries.
- Every country is already in the list, grouped by continent, with its capital left blank. Scroll it to find countries you know.
- Type a capital city. It counts as soon as it matches, with no need to press Enter: the capital fills in next to its country, the country turns green on the map and a dot marks the city.
- Pause whenever you like. The map and the list are hidden while the clock is stopped. If you close or reload the page mid-game, the game is saved and waits, paused, until you come back.
- When the time is up, the list shows the capitals you missed and the map shows their countries in red.
What counts as a capital
Any capital a country officially names counts, whichever branch of government sits there. So does the city where the government actually works when that is somewhere else, and so do the common English names and spellings of a city. A few capitals share their name with their country; for those, the word “City” is optional.
Former capitals don’t count once the capital has moved to a different city, and neither do a country’s largest or economic cities. Local-language names that are rare in English aren’t accepted either. When a country moves its capital, the old one is still accepted for two years.
Capitals, accents, spaces and punctuation don’t matter, “St” works for “Saint” and a leading “The” is optional, but the spelling itself has to be right.
Show the accepted alternative names (gives some answers away)
| Country | Capital | Also accepted |
|---|---|---|
| Bangladesh | Dhaka | Dacca |
| Chile | Santiago | Santiago de Chile |
| China | Beijing | Peking |
| Djibouti | Djibouti | Djibouti City |
| Equatorial Guinea | Ciudad de la Paz | Oyala |
| Guatemala | Guatemala City | Guatemala |
| India | New Delhi | Delhi |
| Iran | Tehran | Teheran |
| Kazakhstan | Astana | Nur-Sultan |
| Kiribati | South Tarawa | Tarawa |
| Kosovo | Pristina | Prishtina |
| Kuwait | Kuwait City | Kuwait |
| Luxembourg | Luxembourg | Luxembourg City |
| Mexico | Mexico City | Mexico |
| Mongolia | Ulaanbaatar | Ulan Bator |
| Myanmar | Naypyidaw | Nay Pyi Taw, Naypyitaw |
| Panama | Panama City | Panama |
| San Marino | San Marino | City of San Marino, San Marino City |
| Sri Lanka | Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte | Kotte |
| Switzerland | Bern | Berne |
| Turkmenistan | Ashgabat | Ashkhabad |
| Ukraine | Kyiv | Kiev |
| United States | Washington, D.C. | Washington |
| Vatican City | Vatican City | Vatican |
| Yemen | Sana'a | Sanaa, Sana |
Countries with more than one capital
A dozen or so countries split their capital: one city for the government and another for parliament or the courts, or an official capital alongside the seat of government. In this quiz any of them names the country, once. The list shows the capital you typed. For a country you miss, the end of the game shows all its capitals.
Show the countries and their capitals (gives some answers away)
| Country | Capitals accepted |
|---|---|
| Benin | Porto-Novo (official capital); Cotonou (seat of government) |
| Bolivia | Sucre (constitutional capital); La Paz (seat of government) |
| Côte d'Ivoire | Yamoussoukro (official capital); Abidjan (seat of government) |
| Equatorial Guinea | Ciudad de la Paz; Malabo (former capital, accepted through 1 January 2028) |
| Eswatini | Mbabane (executive); Lobamba (legislative and royal) |
| Malaysia | Kuala Lumpur (official capital); Putrajaya (administrative capital) |
| Netherlands | Amsterdam (official capital); The Hague (seat of government) |
| Palestine | East Jerusalem (declared capital); Ramallah (seat of government) |
| South Africa | Pretoria (executive); Cape Town (legislative); Bloemfontein (judicial) |
| Sri Lanka | Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte (legislative); Colombo (executive and judicial) |
| Yemen | Sana'a (constitutional capital); Aden (temporary capital) |
Recent capital changes
Capitals change more often than you might think: countries move their government to a new city, rename their capital or change it back. The answers here were checked on 29 September 2026 and are reviewed every six months.
Show the recent changes (gives some answers away)
- Equatorial Guinea moved its capital from Malabo to Ciudad de la Paz on 2 January 2026. Malabo is still accepted through 1 January 2028.
- Indonesia: in May 2026 the Constitutional Court ruled that Jakarta stays the capital until a presidential decree moves it to Nusantara. Jakarta is the answer until then.
- Burundi made Gitega its political capital in 2019. Bujumbura, the former capital, is now the economic capital and isn’t accepted.
- Kazakhstan renamed Astana to Nur-Sultan in 2019 and back to Astana in 2022. Both names are accepted.
- Myanmar’s capital has been Naypyidaw since 2006. Yangon, also known as Rangoon, isn’t accepted.
Questions
Which countries have more than one capital?
About a dozen, in Africa, Asia, Europe and South America. Some divide the branches of government between cities, others have an official capital and a separate seat of government. Open the list under “Countries with more than one capital” to see them all.
Which countries are in the quiz?
The same 197 as in Countries of the World: the 193 members of the United Nations, the two UN observer states, Kosovo and Taiwan. Where a capital is disputed, the quiz accepts the capital each government declares, so no single answer names two countries.
What happens if I type a capital I’ve already named?
The box clears and a note under it says which country you already named. That also happens for a second capital of a country you named with its first.
Does the clock stop if I switch tabs?
No, use Pause for that. If you close or reload the page mid-game, the game is saved and waits, paused, until you come back.
Where are my scores kept?
Only in this browser. Nothing is sent anywhere, and clearing your browser’s site data removes them.
More to play
- Countries of the World: Type every country you can before the clock runs out.
- Periodic Table: Name every chemical element before the clock runs out.
- Flags of the World: Name the country from its flag.
- All quizzes
- El Trivia home